Sculpting 201: Pinning, Armature, and Large Shapes

Here we go again with another foray into learning to sculpt! You've seen the basics of sculptwork, but what if you want something that doesn't follow the shape of the original sculpt? Something that's not just a repair, but instead a little larger, a little more complex, a little more personalized? For this you need to step beyond the basics and into the intermediates. Wait! Don't run away! It's really not that difficult! Plus, I promise the bleeding will stop sooner than you'd expect...

Now one trick is that you're going to be making larger gaps between your original pieces. Putty is naturally a little flexible and will tear under stress. Even normal game play can cause this and it's even worse if you drop the fig or try traveling anywhere. It's foolish to rely on the putty to hold up by itself, especially on a model with metal pieces. The solution is simple: the humble pin drill.

What is a pin drill? Simply, a hand cranked drill for working with really small drill bits. Games Workshop has a decent one with silicone pads and 6x 1mm bits. Because I believe in the open market system, here's similar items from Ace Hardware, Gale Force 9, or Ehobby Tools.
Now I can't really point at one version or another and say "that is the best for everyone". You need to find the one that's right for you. But here's a few tips I can give on things to look for:
1. A swivel plate. This is the flare, knob, or pad at the base of the vise. A deep drill, hard metal or dull bit can require a bit of force to drill. The swivel plate allows you to push down the length of the drill with your palm or the base of your fingers. This takes strain and pressure off your finger tips. But even better, it gives you a firmer grip on the whole system, letting you focus on details like alignment and turning the drill. It's for this reason I recommend against the "Double Ended" version shown on Ehobby... long use can be painful.
2. Size. There's a bit of variance in the design of pin drills. Different makes have different lengths, circumference, or positioning of the pads. This is why I strongly recommend picking one up in person to get a feel for it. For example, the GW version just doesn't work for me because of where the pads are placed... it's designed for someone with smaller hands than my mitts.
3. Collets and bits. A collet is the technical term for the part of the vise that compresses to hold the bit in place. Simple systems like GW's have a limited collet and are designed for a very small tolerance of drill bits. Others will have 2 or 4 collet systems that allow a greater variance in bits. In the same sense, also take note of how many bits you get and how big they are. You WILL break bits. I tend to go through them almost as often as I do Xacto blades. A pro to the GW set is that you get 6x bits. A con is that they're all 1mm; which doesn't do you much good if you really need a .75mm.

So now that I've bored you to death with pin drills, you might be wondering why a drill will matter. It's easy and yet another great technical term... for making your armature.
Armature: Sculpture. a skeletal framework built as a support on which a clay, wax, or plaster figure is constructed.
Now if you're building an entire fig from scratch, then your armature can be built and sculpted over. But if you're modifying an extant mini, you'll need to build on into that. This is why a pin drill is so important. Other tools like a clamp, chisel blade knife, mini-saw, files, and other tools are nice... but only a pin drill can create the smooth bore you need for proper pinning and armature.

Simply, armature is the skeletal structure on which you build. It gives rigidity to the piece, allows you to get a sense for basic form and anatomy, defines your simple proportion, and gives you something to hang the putty on. Some people like staples or paper clips. Personally, I use sewing and quilting pins. Note: pins, not needles. Needles are made with a higher temper steel, so they're stronger and more firm but they also tend to snap rather than bend. Sewing pins provide the right amount of strength, rigidity, and poseability for what I like to do.

So the first step is simply to drill a hole into the fig at the place where the bone or other base framework should be. Then glue your pin in place. Bend it to the shape desired. The excess can be cut off, but sometimes it's nice to have it there to mount the fig for sculpting, painting or basing. If you're unsure, hold off... it's always easier to remove than to add back on.

Now that you have the basic skeleton of the piece ready, you can add basic "filler" mass to create your larger core shapes. This is technically more of the armature as you're just sketching out the basic shapes. It can be more metal, glue, putty or other filler material to bulk out the fig. Brown Stuff and other hard epoxies are great for this. You're not worried about detail here, so much as getting a basic shape on the fig against which details can be formed. Just remember that this layer should be slightly recessed from your final layer, that way you're not having to add more putty to blend the seams. For a great example on armature and building up on it, go check out Klaus' Dei Greci site. In particular there's this, this, and this post from his Ogryn in the armature stages.

One more thing to point out here is that you can always change your armature. Just note that it is easier to do this early rather than later. And as a last item, it's perfectly acceptable to drill entirely through a bit and mount it in the middle of an armature. Both of these methods can be seen on my Chaos lieutenant's legs, the left being the "before" test phase and the right being the final.

That's it for this time... Next week: "Sculpting 202: Layering" Hope you've enjoyed the show!